Advertising exec builds tropical retreat

Monday

Jun 2, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Liz Smith

'What Becomes A Legend Most?"

A purely rhetorical question asked by advertising's Peter Rogers in the old Madison Avenue days of making mink glamorous.

And despite the immortal question, the following wonderful story isn't by Liz, but was written by the talented R. Stephanie Bruno for the New Orleans Advocate. It's all about our good friend, Peter Rogers, who moved away from us Manhattanites several years ago and took up residence in the Big Easy. (Peter was/is my main man and I miss him a lot. But he is happy down South and doing his good works in New Orleans.) We asked the Advocate for permission to reprint the following.

Vieux Carre courtyards come in all shapes, sizes and styles. Enclosed on all sides by masonry walls and buildings, they afford residents of the city's most visited neighborhood respite from the crowds and private places to entertain, read a book or simply lounge.

On Sunday, the Friends of the Cabildo's self-guided tour offers entry to five courtyards and two residences that represent a sampling of what life is like "Behind the Walls of the Vieux Carre."

One of the courtyards open for touring belongs to Peter Rogers, the acclaimed marketing virtuoso who moved to New Orleans five years ago.

Although the interior of his home is not on the tour, his courtyard provides insight into the discerning style and originality that made Rogers a legend.

He collaborated with Kurt Leblanc of Harold's Nursery on choosing and situating the plants in the courtyard, after proclaiming he wanted "Tennessee Williams tropical" and not "Aunt Gladys' flowers."

"Peter wanted something lush and tropical, but something that didn't need a lot of maintenance," Leblanc explained. "I looked at pictures of his Connecticut house and the landscaping was very formal, very restrained. He wanted just the opposite here."

Rogers' Creole cottage and its dependency border the courtyard on two sides, with masonry walls completing the square.

Characterized by flagstone paving, the courtyard features slightly raised beds and containers in varied shapes and materials.

The site receives filtered light except for a corner along the Toulouse Street side next to the dependency that gets sun. Three large palm trees were already in place when the redesign began, as was a wall fountain featuring three lion heads.

A climbing fig sheathes the fountain wall, but the opposite wall is cloaked in bougainvillea, just now resuscitating after winter's deep freeze.

Leblanc says that he stops by when he is in the Quarter to check on the courtyard and see what may be needed, but a benefit is a chance to visit with Rogers.